This forsaken ghost town was once a priceless jewel in the crown of the Roman Empire...a vital and vibrant seaport, the streets of ancient Ostia overflowed with traders and merchants from around the world...people who intr... more &raquooduced this society to revolutionary ideas and mystery cults and forbidden pleasures. Yet despite its prosperity, the mighty city died a slow, painful death. Discover why Rome's richest, most powerful and majestic port is now an abandoned wasteland. A port city lying 20 miles outside of Rome, ancient Ostia is the nearest thing to a suburb of the Eternal City. The ruins at Ostia are not at all like the well-known cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The destruction of those small Roman towns was unexpected, swift, and complete. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 14, 79 A.D. froze those two cities at a moment in time. Proximity allowed Ostia to escape the wrath of Vesuvius and continue to develope in the Second and Third Centuries, through the height of the dominance and power of the Roman Empire. For almost 400 years, Ostia enjoyed growth and prosperity. Then, hand-in-hand with the fall of the Roman Empire, the city declined into 1600 years of oblivion--abandoned, neglected, and largely forgotten. Over the course of hundreds of years, silt from the Tiber River and debris from the Mediterranean Sea slowly engulfed the deserted town.&laquo less